US Aid and Lobbying Anchor Israel’s Bipartisan Push

After Democrats won control of Congress, Israeli opposition politicians blamed Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for weakening U.S. support. They promised to rebuild bipartisan ties if they form the next government. The pledge came as the Israeli opposition and the American Israel Public Affairs Committee both focused on preserving a political partnership backed by billions of dollars in U.S. military aid.

Democrats won majorities in the Senate and House on Tuesday, in a result described as a sharp rebuke to U.S. President Donald Trump. Frustration over the U.S. and Israel’s war on Iran contributed to the result, the article reported. In Israel, Netanyahu’s right-wing coalition lost its parliamentary majority in an election a week earlier, but did well enough to deny his main rival, Gadi Eisenkot, a clear path to replacing him.

The partnership behind the promises

For decades, the United States has served as Israel’s staunchest ally under presidents from both parties, providing billions of dollars a year in military aid since the 1970s. That support forms the material backdrop to opposition politicians’ warnings about Netanyahu’s handling of Washington—not a footnote in the argument over who should govern Israel.

Yair Lapid, a former prime minister whose party is part of the coalition seeking to unseat Netanyahu, said the congressional results showed that “Israel cannot afford” for Netanyahu to remain in office. “It endangers our security, it jeopardizes our democracy, and it will ruin our standing on the global stage,” Lapid wrote on social media.

Lapid said Israel should return to “the rule that worked for us for seventy years and broke in 2015, when Netanyahu went to speak in Congress” against then-President Barack Obama. Netanyahu’s speech warned against the nuclear deal Obama was negotiating with Iran and aligned Netanyahu with Republican opponents of the president. “Israel doesn’t choose sides in America. We work with everyone,” Lapid wrote on X.

That appeal for bipartisan support comes amid a political contest over military aid. Some Democratic candidates made criticism of aid to Israel amid its war on Gaza a central campaign theme. Trump, who had endorsed Netanyahu in Israel’s election, pledged on Tuesday to halt $4bn in annual funding to Israel, calling it a way to take away a “bad talking point” for Democrats.

A bipartisan promise, from both sides

Lapid acknowledged that the “anti-Israel core” in Congress “has grown,” but said it amounted to less than 10 percent of the Senate. He pointed to Democratic lawmakers Hakeem Jeffries, who would lead the House, and Chuck Schumer, who would lead the Senate. “Both are my friends; both voted with Israel this year even when the majority of their party caucus voted otherwise,” he said.

Eisenkot also promised to restore bipartisan ties if he leads Israel. “We will renew and deepen that partnership, strengthen the bipartisan foundations that have long sustained it, and work with our allies to advance a Middle East defined not simply by the absence of conflict, but by the presence of opportunity and cooperation,” he wrote on X. He called Israel “one of America’s most reliable and capable strategic partners in the Middle East” and described the partnership as “mutually beneficial for both peoples, in every aspect.”

Yair Golan, whose party is also part of the anti-Netanyahu coalition, said the vote showed “just how toxic Netanyahu has become” among Democrats and Republicans alike. He warned that Netanyahu and his far-right government could put Israel on “a path toward international sanctions, global isolation, and a confrontation with the United States.” Netanyahu didn’t immediately respond.

Lobbying counts its wins

The American Israel Public Affairs Committee, described as the leading pro-Israel lobbying group, echoed Lapid’s call for bipartisan ties. It congratulated “the hundreds of pro-Israel Democrats and Republicans who won their elections last night,” reported that 234 candidates it backed won, and singled out Schumer and Jeffries. The group pledged to “increase its support for Democrats and Republicans who recognize that a strong partnership with Israel helps keep both countries secure.”

Opposition leaders, a lobbying group and elected officials are now making versions of the same case: preserve the U.S.-Israel partnership and change the Israeli leadership accused of weakening it. The military aid and organized political support remain part of that equation, whichever coalition claims the next turn in office.